Company B
by RikaHara
Summary: A mysterious man in a suit has a job that needs doing, and the requirements can only be filled by a certain two spartans and one strong silent type of an ODST.(YES IM FINALLY CONTINUING THIS)
1. Chapter 1

Six hit the ground running, his assault rifle firing. This was it. Underneath the scorching sun he knew that he was the last of the last. They were dead, Kat, Carter, Jorge, Emile, all of them. But that didn't mean he wouldn't go down without a fight.

He lifted his assault rifle, the bullets making swiss cheese out of the grunts ahead of him, they died screaming, alerting the others. He was still running when an elite charged at him, mandibles quivering with saliva. The spartan dropped, sliding across the dirt, blue plasma arcing over his head. Taking out his knife he stabbed the elite in the leg, shoving his gun into his face and pulled the trigger. Purplish blue blood splattered onto his scarred armor. There was a sound behind him. Elites had come to inspect what happened to their brother, and the sight of his corpse filled them with rage.

So, Six did what he did best, he turned and fought. bullets ripped apart alien skin. Blood soaked the ground, but it wasn't his. Not yet. He was going to make sure they knew what fear was before he was finished. Covenant swarmed to his position, all intent on severing the head of this last enemy. But they should of known Spartans don't die easy.

A pile of bodies had collected on the ground before he finally ran out of ammo. He felt hot and sticky underneath his armor, his breath coming in ragged gasps underneath his helmet, its visor cracked. It had taken too much damage, and so had the rest of his armor. It got him through hell and back, and now it was finally beginning to show its wear and tear.

Grabbing his helmet, he flung it off, the scorching air of the burning planet forcing its way down his throat. There was a noise behind him, so he took out his knife and drove it into the neck of a jackal that was trying to sneak up on him. He smiled as it spazzed, then died.

"That all you got?" He panted.

Fiery pain erupted in his back, forcing him to his knees. He reached his hand around and felt the pink spiky tips that had ripped through his shield. He turned to face his attacker just in time to see the energy sword rammed into his stomach.

His breathing came in strangled gasps as the gold clad elite bent down, looking him in the eye with a cruel glee. His mandibles curled into what looked like to be a smile.

"Wort Wort Wort!" He drew his sword out, the spartan crumpled to the ground. More elites gathered round, hoping for a chance to stick their own swords into Six.

His vision was blurred as he feebly tried to push off the elites clambering on top of him, the searing pain slowly being replaced by the creeping numbness of death. There were too many, he couldn't fight anymore. It was time to join the rest of Noble Team.

"Wort wort wort, wort!" The lead elite drew back its energy sword, which sparked eerily in the setting sun.

The spartan let his head fall back onto the dirt, catching one last glimpse of the amber sky. Blood covered the ground, and this time, it was his own.

"Burn with this planet." He spat weakly as the elite brought his sword down...

and...

Stopped. An inch away from his flesh. The spartan blinked in surprise. The elites around him were frozen, in fact, everything seemed to have stopped. He looked at the dust particles, once swirling in the wind, now suspended like dirty ornaments.

"What the...?" his fading mind managed to think. Was that it? Did he die already...?

To make matters even more confusing, there was a rustle, then a figure popped out from behind a gold elite.

*creepy voice* "Boo." the word hissed out of his mouth as he straightened up, brushing off his blue suit. . If he wasn't so close to death, Six would of jumped in surprise.

"My, I believe that...my intervention was just...in time. *deep breath* don't you think?" His smile was cold as he brought out a mysterious brief case from behind him. "It appears...hmmm...that the, particular merchan-dise in...question"-he looked over Six with cold, multi-colored eyes, giving him the impression that the merchandise in question was him- "has sustained some, potentially fatal...damage, but it...can be re-stored. For the right price...hm...don't you think?"

Six tried to say something, but the only thing that came up was a blood choked gargle. The strange suited man gave a humorless chuckle. "I will take that-...as a, yes. Now...judging...by your, previous actions. here. We do believe that you have...the right, skill. for the job." He adjusted his tie before unlocking the snaps on his brief case. Six could only stare helplessly as the strange man opened it, and the world went black.

TOBECONTINUED!


	2. Chapter 2: Events

**_Atuhor's Notes: Heyo, I hope ya'll enjoy this second chapter, though I came out slightly displeased with it, so please, any ideas on how to make the characterizations better, or anything else to help imporve the story, please tell me. thanks! :D _**

"John." The voice cut through the void, slowly dragging the spark of life from its cold dormancy.

"John, wake up!" Something about the voice's nervous pitch told him he had to answer the call. A surge of energy ran through him as his brain fired back to life, burning away the numbing mindlessness of unconsciousness.

"Chief! I need you! "

His mouth opened, filling his lungs with new oxygen as his eyes snapped awake, ready for anything. Anything, except for the empty blackness that swirled outside the blue glow of his HUD.

"Cortana."

"I don't know where we are, Chief." She answered the silent question, relieved that she finally wasn't alone. "-and before you say anything else, I don't know how I came to be installed into your helmet, either"-he noted her irked tone. The A.I never liked it when she was lacking in information- "I've been offline for several hours."

"What happened." He rasped, his throat dry. He definitely wasn't in cryo anymore.

"My last recorded memory happened five hours ago. You were still in stasis (no big surprise there) then the ship shook. From what limited scans I could run, it seemed everything was just fine, then this man appeared. Strange, he only had a blue suit on, and carried a brief case. Before I could wake you my systems cut out. Next thing I know we're here...wherever here is..."

The spartan silently registered the information. He could almost hear Cortana's processors overheating as she tried to form some type of hypothesis of explaining what happened. His soldier's mind didn't have any room for confusion or doubt, wherever they were and however they got there, they could find out later. Right now, the main objective was to find a way out.

"Any ideas, Chief?" Cortana finally had enough of the quiet.

"Let's just wing it and see what happens."

"Glad to see you haven't changed." She said as the Master Chief stepped forward and began to search through the darkness. It felt like he was drifting through a thick fog, with not even the sound of his own footsteps reaching his ears. Finally, his gloved hand brushed up against something smooth, a wall. Before he could do anything else it slid open in front of him, engulfing the spartan in a glowing white light, causing him to squint, despite his heavily tinted visor.

"After you,' She said lightly as he stepped out into a bland white hallway, the door closing behind him. The Master Chief looked around, eyes calmly searching for any clues or information about the strange place they were in. He found none. The hall was completely colorless and smooth, showing no signs of either windows or doors. In the back of his head he knew something was definitely not right. His finger's twitched for his battle rifle, which, with some disappointment, he knew was still floating in space somewhere, far away from him.

Denying the unwanted feeling time to grow, he kept moving, certain that if he went far enough they would find something, and he was right.

The spartan had been walking for what seemed like several minutes until his A.I companion's feminine voice filled his ears.

"Hold up, I'm getting a life sign. Looks like we're not alone here." She declared. The spartan's eyes flicked to his radar, where a pulsing circle flashed a little ways off to his right. He turned his head, and only saw the same wall he had been staring at since they got there.

"You sure that it's working right?"

"All armor systems are functioning perfectly. There is definitely something there."

With nothing else to do, the spartan went up to the wall, looking it up and down for any tell-tale cracks or lines, indication a door. Finding none, he lifted his hand and pressed against it. There was a click, and the door soundlessly opened.

"Nice detective work-" Cortana's musings were cut short as the Master Chief stepped inside the room. The piercing white light was toned down here, showing spotless tile floors. The room was empty, save for a long metal table set up in the center.

The Master Chief didn't know what he was expecting to find. Whatever it was, he could more than well handle it, at least, that was what he thought, but what was lying on that table threw him completely off guard. The dark blue and gray armor, scars across its metal plates, was unmistakable. It was one of many pieces worn by his brothers and sisters as they ran into battle. There was only one thing it could be.

It was a spartan.

"It's a spartan." Cortana exclaimed as he approached the unconscious figure. His helmet lay next to his uncovered head. His face was tan, with a long scar cutting through his nose and running down cheek. The realization came to her that she knew him, but she had to make sure. It only took her half a second to scan him and run it through her database. Yes, there he was, no wonder his armor looked so familiar...but wait...

"It can't be. What is HE doing here?"

"I take it you know him? "

"Yes, I know him. Spartan lieutenant S-312 , Noble Six, a classified hyper lethal vector. He was the one that got me off of Reach."

"All of Noble Team died on Reach."

"Then maybe we're dead, too." That fact alone cut a chunk into the hardened spartan's resolve. Being dead wasn't something firepower and intuition alone could solve.

Cortana noticed the spike in his brain waves, "At least we have each other." She tried to be helpful. "-and I severely doubt we are both dead. Let me run more tests."

He didn't say anything as he leaned down to examine noble Six, who chose that exact time to wake up.

His brown eyes shot open, giving a surprised gasp he bolted upright, inadvertently slamming his head right into the Master Chief's visor. hard. He stumbled back while Six clutched his fore head.

"Damn!" Was the first word out of his mouth. Catching his breath, his finger's flew to his stomach, he looked down, surprised and confused to find his armor perfectly intact, no stab wounds, and that he was feeling completely and wholly alive. He then noticed the Master Chief staring at him, and immediately gripped the knife strapped to his chest plate.

"Stand down, soldier. We're all on the same team." He spoke slowly in an attempt to calm the other spartan down.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" He growled back.

"We were hoping you would be the one to answer that." Cortana put in, causing Six's eyes to narrow.

'There's two of you in there?" He scoffed, obviously demanding introductions.

"I'm Cortana, his A.I. I believe we have met before."

'Cortana?" He asked in disbelief, "But I just delivered you to the Pillar of Autumn...'

"A bit more time has passed since then, Noble Six, but its good to see you again, too." As the master chief listened, he could of sworn he detected a certain fondness in her voice. "And this is the Master Chief, I'm sure you two will get along quite well."

Six looked like he still didn't know whether to salute or stab him, but finally he relaxed, swinging both legs off the table and standing up.

"you don't know what's going on, either." Chief stated knowingly.

Six rubbed the black stubble on his face and picked up his helmet, which seemed to have been fully repaired. His brow knit together with confusion. "I'm supposed to be dead, but-"

"The man in the suit?"

"Yeah. "

"I have a feeling something is definitely going on here," Cortana said curiously, " I wonder if anyone else was taken-"

As if to answer her question, the door slid open and a young ODST stumbled in, clutching his helmet. Both spartans stood there, silently noting the irony.

"That answer your question?" The Master Chief asked, completely unfazed at the random new arrival, too many unexplainable things had happened in such a short time that this latest event seemed almost normal.

'A little young to be an ODST?" If the A.I had a face at the moment, she would of smiled. "Well, that makes number three. What's your name, rookie?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but Six chose the time to loose whatever temper he had. "With all due respect, ma'am, I don't care what his name is. I just want to know what the hell is going on here!"

"We-ell, now...it seems that all, parties, appear present...so we can. Begin. This briefing.' A large desk appeared in the room, and behind it stood the strange suited man, briefcase laying before him like some kind of sacred object.

All three, sensing the worst, immediately tensed up. The man only gave a coldly stretched smile, viewing the armored threats before him as one looks over a toy they might want to buy.

"I understand, that you...might have, numerous...inquiries...about my...interventions, into your lives, or...in some. Case...deaths"-he glanced at Six, who looked ready to run over and choke the answers out of him, "and my...contract requires me, to...answer, them.'

"Please do." Cortana spoke wearily, sensing the man's hostility through the way John's heart beat rose as he got into threat mode.

"You have all, been...hired for, a, particular purpose...due to your...various skills, it is...no surprise certain...entities have...taken, notice. As is with the case, of...accepting, propositions...you, have a choice. Agree to the, terms of the...contract and, therefore be hired, or...'-he flicked his hand and a door appeared a ways to his left, "de-cline and, you can...disband back, to your...previous engagements. Your choice."

Noble Six, Rookie, and Master Chief exchanged glances. It seemed they were all in agreement. Six and the ODST slipped on their helmets as they made their way to the exit door.

"Oh...and before, you, leave..." The man said, his voice so soft the rookie was the only one to have heard it, he turned and looked at the man. "I have been...given, certain, guidelines...for honesty, concerning...you..."

The Masterchief grabbed the handle.

"I have, somewhat been...neglible on various, aspects of otherwise...factual information..."

He twisted it.

"...which lead me,to...the, otherwise prone, exaggerating...of certain criteria concerning...the promise of choice. In short..."

He pushed the door open.

"I lied."

"John!" Cortana blurted as he stepped out into open air. Six tried to grab him but the larger spartan's weight pulled him out. Rookie dashed to the rescue, wrapping his arms around Six's waist in an attempt to prevent his from falling out the door, but there's only so much weight an ODST could hold, and two fully grown spartans turned out to be a little to much for him.

His knees buckled out from underneath him and together they fell out into open sky.

TOBECONTINUED


	3. Chapter 3: Aw, crap

_**Well, here we are with the next chapter! :D Anywho, any critique is appreciated, since the main reason i write fanfics is to learn how to better my so-called-skill. And since this IS a half-life/Halo crossover, if there are any HL characters you want to see in here, please, feel free to suggest them! :) **_

The Rookie was having a tough day. He didn't know how it started, or what exactly was happening, but he did know that at the moment, he was falling through the air with two mysterious spartans, and the ground was coming up fast.

He had lost whatever grip he had on the blue and gray one and was now free falling, he could hear the wind screaming past his helmet as he continued to plummet, a twinge of nervousness running up his spine.

It wasn't the situation that was causing him to sweat. ODST's were called hell jumpers for a reason, and he had manned many a drop pod, but the fact was this time, there was no metal bucket between him and the rough landing.

It was only a few seconds now before he hit the ground. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain he would feel when he hit the ground, then died. It looked like this was it...

The something grabbed him. Startled, he opened his eyes to see the big green spartan wrap an arm around him, pulling him close.

_THUD! _

The wind was knocked out of the young ODST as the spartan landed on his feet, the ground exploding around his landing. Thanks to the spartan using his own armor to shield him from the impact, the Rookie came out to be quite alive.

The armor clad super soldier silently set him down, and the ODST was about to tell him his thanks and revel in the fact that he wasn't dead when the other spartan came down to earth with a resounding _boom! _Causing him to stumble back a little.

"Master Chief..." He heard the green spartan's A.I speak, she sounded a little exasperated.

"I get it,"- He brushed dirt off his armor-" next time I'll look before I leap." The Master Chief, as that seemed to be his name, looked around at the amber fields that swayed in the breeze. "Cortana, are we out?"

"Terrain and oxygen scans make it seem that way, yes. It appears we are back on earth."

"Earth, ma'am?" The other spartan stood up from the small crater he had made, the puzzlement loud in his voice.

"As far as I can tell, Six." Cortana answered. "Though I guess looking around wouldn't hurt."

"Agreed. Move out, Rookie," The Chief motioned, and the young ODST started jogging after them, feeling quite small in his towering shadow. His squad leader, Sgt. Buck, always told him spartans didn't need a weapon to look imposing. He was right.

They spread out as they walked, forging rough path ways through the waves of wheat before them, always on guard and on the look out, all shared the unspoken feeling that they weren't out of the frying pan yet.

Rookie lagged behind, running his fingers through the stalks and kicking curiously at the dirt. It was the first time in a long while he actually saw a field that wasn't either on fire or bombed out. Idly he noted that it looked like a good place for a nap, but snapped back to reality when he realized he was lagging behind.

Quickening his pace to catch up, he observed the two super soldiers in front of him as they silently made their way through the field.

The tall one in the dark green armor, he had heard about the Master Chief, how he was humanities last hope. Walking in his presence did make him feel a whole lot less worried about the covenant. He could catch a glimpse of his strength through the way he confidently strode through the stalks, like an armored battering ram. Meanwhile, his counterpart was of a different nature.

He had never heard of this "Six", but he was a spartan nonetheless, and one that wasn't something to be messed with, either. He moved with a reserved, fluid movement, like a cat stalking its prey . He also seemed to be rather irritable, judging by the few words he had spoken, and held many hostilities towards others.

Either way, Rookie liked the Master Chief a whole lot better.

"Hold on a second, I'm picking up a signal." Cortana's voice sounded in his comm, causing him to pause. "Strange, its not human."

"Covenant?" The Chief asked calmly.

Six stopped dead in his tracks, swiveling around to face them. "Highly unlikely. The covenant haven't reached Earth, yet."

Rookie and the Master Chief looked at each other, the young ODST shrugging apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Six"-there was real sympathy in the A.I's voice, "you've been out for a long time, and a few things have happened since then."

"They found Earth.' He could see Six visibly tense up.

"Yes, they did. But we won."

_We did? _Now it was Rookie's time to turn around and gawk, but nobody could read his confusion underneath his helmet. Last thing he remembered was the fires of New Mombasa lighting up the covenant cruisers as they began to glass it. At the time it definitely did not look like they were winning. Was it possible this spartan came from the future...?

Noble Six did not utter a word, his fists clenched, then forcibly relaxed as he turned back around. "Lead us to the signal, ma'am." His tone was unreadable as Master Chief passed him, following his A.I's directions.

At length they came upon a type of barn, its faint blue paint peeling in the noon day sun, its weather beaten door tightly shut and locked. Rookie walked up to the rusted lock and jiggled it, when it did not open he turned to the Master Chief.

"The signal's coming from inside." He said, which meant that there was nothing in the world to stop them from getting in.

"Have at it, boys." Cortana encouraged. And the Chief stepped forward, but Six blocked his way.

"Sir, if I may." Before anyone could say anything he had taken his knife to the lock, a second later it lay on the ground.

"I was expecting more door smashing, but that works, too. Learn that from your lone wolf days?" Rookie could almost hear the smile in her voice.

"I picked up a few things." He replied, sliding the knife back into it's sheath. "Sometimes the missions needs to be kept silent and clean."

"Hm, I didn't know you had that side, considering the piles of dead bodies you left on Reach."

'Catch up later," The Chief interrupted, "go silent till we find out what's in here. " Moving past Six to step inside, the two spartans locked eyes with each other, and Rookie could almost feel the tension radiating from underneath their visors. It was almost like they were in a competition, but for what, he had no clue.

Lacking the patience to find out at the moment, he slipped past them and into the darkness of the barn, turning on his night vision.

Just dust and empty stalls lay before him, with no hint of the origins of the mysterious signal in sight. He drifted around, feet clacking on the worn floor boards, peeping into stalls and flicking around the old and musty hay that lay there. It only took a few seconds to tell the barn was long abandoned.

"Found something.' A gritty voice rasped over the comm, coming from the Master Chief. Coming over, he found what he was looking at. Wooden stairs led down into inky darkness. It appeared this barn had a basement.

The signal was much stronger here, it was pinging rapidly in Rookie's HUD, sparking his curiosity. He was just itching to go down there.

"It matches no known signature." Cortana intoned. "Neither Covenant or human."

"Then what is it, ma'am?" As if in reply to Six's question, there was a pulse. It entered Rookie's head and clawed at his brain, causing his vision to blur. Instinctively his hands flew to his covered head, but as quickly as it had come it vanished, as did the pain. It left him breathless and a little shaken.

"Hell." Six breathed, shaking his head. "No way that can be covenant."

"Only one way to find out." The Master Chief shrugged and began to carefully sneak down the stairs. "Stay close, stay alert."

"I hope no one's afraid of the dark..." Cortana added as they descended.

It got brighter once they reached the bottom. So bright that Rookie turned off his night vision to look around. They were standing in a medium sized room, full of cables and wires. A console leaned against the wall across from them, while in the far corner a large metal cocoon-like structure was attached to the wall, small trails of steam floating from it.

Immediately, the young ODST was off exploring, hopping over cables and under wires, examining the console. On the glowing blue screen, lines and words of an unknown language pulsed, while numerous buttons and levers whirred down below.

Instinctively he poked a finger out to touch one, but a hand reached out and jerked away his arm.

"Don't touch." Six commanded gruffly before making way for the Master Chief.

'You sure?' he asked his A.I.

"Plug me in, maybe I can tap into the feed and what out what exactly is going on." She replied.

Reaching behind his helmet he pulled out a chip and inserted it into a slot in the console. It flashed, then the small blue figure of a woman appeared on the screen. Rookie couldn't help but find her to be very pretty for an A.I.

"I'm in." She smirked, data swirling around her.

"Are we on earth?"

"Yes, Chief, my findings have been reaffirmed from what I can make out. Weird, This data is transcripted in an alien language that has not been recorded, it might take me a few minutes to translate it all into my memory core, then we can find out what exactly it is doing here on earth." She said, giving the invitation for the soldiers to explore.

Seeming to sense Rookie's burning curiosity, Six chose to smite it. "Stay put." He commanded before going over to inspect the large metal object attached to the far wall.

The ODST's shoulders sagged as he leaned back against the console.

"I have a feeling you've been through a lot." Cortana spoke to him as she worked. He nodded tiredly in reply.

'Strong silent type, huh?" She laughed, "now how exactly did an ODST like you end up all the way here?"

Before he could even start talking she lit up, "cracked it!" she bragged. It was enough to call the two spartans back.

"What do you have?" The Chief inquired.

"Hm, I seem to have connected to their database. This is earth, but...something is wrong. I cannot reach any UNSC or civilian lines or even find the name. Wait, this isn't right. According to this, it seems...Earth has been invaded ?"

"You said the Covenant was defeated. " Six defended.

"Its not the Covenant that's in charge here, apparently. Oh-this is not good."

"What's wrong?" Chief asked.

"I'm getting a lot of data streams and chatter here, most of it is jumbled. Apparently the invasion happened twenty years ago...something about...the Combine? Xen, portals,...human resistance?"

"Im guessing we have a problem?"

"Yes, Chief, it seems someone decided to re-write earths history while we were gone. There's no mention of the Covenant or even the Spartan Project. Its present time, but we haven't even made the blue prints for the first class frigate, yet! It's a long shot, but there's only one way to explain this."

"Go ahead, ma'am, surprise me." Six crossed his arms.

"Somehow that man in the suit could manipulate and warp time and matter. I have yet to analyze enough facts to find out how he did it, but it is possible that we are in an alternate-"

She was startled out of her lecture by a beeping on the screen.

"Is that supposed to happen?" The Master Chief asked.

"No,' came the worried answer. "Something else is in the systems, another A.I, or program...it's initiating some type of wake-up procedure, I must of touched something I shouldn't have. Here, let me-no, wait-CHIEF!" Her virtual eyes were wide as she reached out right before the screen shut off.

"Cortana!" Rookie was pushed aside as the spartan reached for the chip to pull the A.I out, but another pulse ripped through them, this one more painful then the last. Rookie fell to his knees, his brain almost shutting down. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the metal cocoon hiss and slowly open, the metal plates sliding apart with a resounding clang.

He had a second to feel horrified before his mind was battered again, this time the air moved around him as he lost all feeling in his limbs and was throw back against the wall by some invisible force. He hit it. Hard. Stars flashed before his vision before everything went black.

When he opened his eyes it was like a nightmare. He was lying crumpled on the ground, watching helplessly as a white worm-like creature, puffy and covered in slime, floated menacingly towards his companions, who, despite all their armor and strength, were suspended weightlessly in the air, as helpless as he was.

It seemed to look around, taking in it's surroundings until it finally focused in on the two spartans. It didn't have any eyes, but Rookie still had the terrible feeling that it looked very hungry by the way it advanced on them.

As if attached by a string, The Master Chief was pulled toward it, his muscles straining to break free of the unseen grip he was in. To make matters worse, a slit in the front of the creature opened and a long, veined tongue slid out. The ODST's bad feeling grew worse. He had to do something. Lifting his arm, he realized he could move. The thing must of ignored him since he was unconscious.

"Rookie." Six grunted. He looked up to see the spartan twitching uncontrollably, trying to command his fingers to let go of the knife that was trapped firmly in his grip. It was much as a plea for help as Rookie would ever get, so he sprang into action.

Grabbing the knife out of the floating spartan's hand, he swung it back. Before the thing could drive it's tongue into the Chief's neck it squealed in pain, the blade firmly lodged in its face. Distracted by its agony, it let them fall to the ground.

Rookie would of celebrated, but then the barn exploded.

Wood and stone swirled around the alien as it squealed and screamed, tearing apart a hole in the ceiling with it's mind, then flying off into the clear blue of the sky, leaving nothing but debris and pus-like blood in its wake.

The three of them sat there for a second, breathing, then Six spoke up. "Hell." That seemed to snap them out of it, because the Master Chief shot up and bolted over to the console. The whole thing seemed to be dead, and when he pulled the chip out, it was empty.

"Cortana?" Six almost hesitated to ask as they watched the other spartan's hands tense up, then go limp as he slowly slid the empty chip back into his empty. Not a word was spoken as he turned back to them. They didn't need words to tell them the situation just got worse.

Rookie was about to say something encouraging when there was a clatter overhead, sending them all into battle mode. Each one slipped into the shadows as footsteps were heard creaking on the floor boards.

"The hell happened here?" They heard a voice call out.

"Looks like we found the advisor's nest alright, but damn, looks like we came too late!"

"Too late? But that thing was supposed to be asleep for another week!"

"Well, someone probably came along and woke it up, then!" Came the angry retort.

"They sound human." Six's voice came over the comm.

"Follow my lead." Master Chief was thinking the same thing as he motioned them to follow him silently up the stairs.

The two men, clothed in blue and wearing caps, were too busy looking at the now demolished barn to notice the green helmet that peered at them from the stairwell.

"Think they're friendly?"

"Lets find out, Six." with that he stood up and waited for them to take notice. It didn't take long for one to turn around. His eyes bugged out of his sockets and he looked for sure to be messing his pants as a swear escaped from his mouth. He frantically reached for his sidearm as his comrade's mouth dropped open. Both of them stumbling back and almost falling into the hole.

"Ryan, what the hell are those things ? ' The first one screamed, diving for cover.

"I dunno, Chris, some new type of combine? Open fire!" Ryan squealed as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

The Rookie's hand's flew up as he stepped forward, his mouth opening to from words that would help calm the two men down, but the Master Chief beat him to it.

"At ease. We're on your side." He raised a hand.

"Don't shoot unless you have a death wish." Six added, The Chief giving him a look that Rookie could only guess meant "you're not helping. At all."

"Hey, Ryan, they know english! Maybe they're on our side. They look human...kinda."

"Yeah, and Dr. Breen looks human...kinda, too. How can we trust you?"

"You're looking for some worm thing?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"We're not too friendly with it either, since it tried to eat us. "

The one called Ryan peeped his head out from the cover of a nearby stall. "More like they suck out your brain stem, but that's close enough. No combine talks like that. " He stood up, scratching the beard on his face. "Its alright, Chris, come out."

Relunctantly, his counterpart crawled out. "So, who the hell are you people, exactly? Did White Forest decide to finally help upgrade our armor, or are you more space aliens?" He pried.

"Lets just say we're not supposed to be here." Came the answer. "We followed a signal to this barn, and found your worm-"

"Combine advisor."

"Speaking of which, mind telling us what that was?" Six put in, not sounding very friendly.

"You mean you don't know?' Chris gawked, and was elbowed by Ryan.

"It's like a general or whatnot for the combine, it helps rally them to hunt us rebel humans down. They're basically the brains of the operation. We were trying to track this one down before it hatched, because it was holding info about the wherabouts of our base. Now that you three came along and woke it up, we're basically screwed. Nice going."

"So this thing can store information, like an organic A.I?" The blue and gray spartan asked.

"Eh, something like that. I guess. "-he gave them an odd look-" Lets just say that before it hatches, data is stored in the computer monitoring it. When it wakes up from its nap, everything is downloaded into its head so it has everything it needs to know, and that it can carry all that new stuff back to the citadel to share with its buddies."

The three looked at each other, suddenly knowing where Cortana went.

'That means-"

"Cortana was downloaded with the rest of the data." The Chief realized. "We're going after her."

"With all due respect, Master Chief, I don't think that's a good idea." Six broke in.

"Problem?" His tone lowered as they huddled in.

"I know the A.I is valuable, but something doesn't seem right. Seems its all too much of a coincidence we stumble on this thing and she immediately gets stolen. Its almost like _someone_ wants us to go after her. Someone like the man in the suit."

Rookie thought about it. He didn't have much warm feelings about that certain spartan, but he had a point. Who knew what was going to happen if they decided to go after her in this strange version of earth, but, as his Sgt. put it, no man left behind. It seemed to him as simple as that.

The Master Chief and him seemed to be in mutual agreement. "No man left behind." He put it gruffly.

"I-" Six was jerked forward as the other spartan grabbed his chest plate, pulling him close.

"We're going after her." The decision was final. He turned to the two rebels, who were staring at them with a weary disbelief, still partially unsure if they were going to come out of this encounter alive.

"You." He pointed at Chris, who couldn't help but jump.

"Yeah?"

"Where is that worm going?"

"You really don't know, do you?' Ryan interrupted, looking them over with a furrowed brow, "say...where are you guys from, anyway? You couldn't of been living under a rock for the whole invasion, not with armor like that!"

""Don't try our patience.' Six threatened.

Chris pointed off to the east, chattering nervously. "Its heading to the city. See that black line poking into the sky, all the way over there, that's a combine outpost. We tend to avoid it, but you might want to do the opposite. Its where they load some of the trains, so, maybe it can...you know, get you inside?"

The Chief turned back to his comrades, making Six cross his arms.

"It might be the best starting point." He reluctantly agreed.

"Hm. Thoughts, Rookie?"

Rookie looked towards the horizon, where the combine communications tower was silhouetted against the sky. Without further ado he stepped out of the broken shambles of the barn and began to walk.

"Not much of a talker, huh?' Six noted to the Chief, shrugging. "So, we done here?"

"One more thing." He turned to the two rebels, who quailed underneath his sights. "I need a weapon."

TOBECONTINUED


	4. Chapter 4: Raid Pt 1

The Combine Outpost was planted firmly on the edge of a rocky gully, the train tracks running well protected beneath it. The light from it's watch tower pierced like a knife into the night sky, visible for miles around. A silent reminder that they were always watching.

There were two walls to the base. The outer one rose a good twenty feet, its stone riddled with traces of bullets and shells. A guard tower perched on the far right corner, overlooking the yard, while the second and smaller wall enclosed the main complex, ensuring its safety. A siren blared, echoing throughout the compound, signaling the time to rotate patrols.

A lone Combine soldier paced the a section of the outer wall, guarding the walkway to the guard tower, frost collecting on the edges of the standard issue gas mask. It was a cold, quiet night. If the Combine had any independent thoughts in its head, it might of been bored. Either way, it stared off into the yard, surveying the vehicles as they roared through the gate, parking for the night. The air wavered behind it, the cacophony of the engines muffling the noise if its snapping neck. The new corpse fell to the ground, where it was dragged up and thrown over the wall, completely unnoticed. The air moved again, darting into the shadows of the tower's doorway.

Six uncloaked, waiting for it to recharge. The kill was quiet and clean, the work of a professional. It gave him a small sense of satisfaction. "Entering the guard tower now. Stay low till I give the signal." he breathed into the comm.

"Roger that." The Master Chief's gritty voice answered him as he creaked open the door and vanished.

This was it. He was in his element. Now it was no one but him and his targets. Here, he was at his best.

Despite his invisibility, he took great care moving up the metal staircase. He paused at the top, observing the monitors that filled the circular room, and the combine that watched them. He reached for his knife, his empty fingers reminding him that it was still stuck in that giant floating slug thing. Who knew where it was, now. He would have to improvise. Good, it would be more challenging that way.

He spotted a weapons rack leaning against the wall closest to the stairs. He couldn't help the small smile that played on his lips when he saw the shotgun. Images of a certain skull-faced spartan flitted through his mind, but he hastily shoved them back down. He wouldn't allow himself to think about it. He had blood to spill. That is, if these things actually bled, whatever they were. One way to find out...

The masked soldiers simultaneously turned their heads at the sound of a gun being cocked.

_BANG! _

The first one was blown out of its seat, crimson splattering across the screen. Six shrugged, looks like they bleed after all. He opened fired. Shoving twin barrels into the face of the next one that tried to get out of its seat. Fabric and brain matter sprayed across his armor.

By now the other seven had connect the dots and realized they were under attack. They raised their pulse rifles and opened fire. The spartan's shields sparked and pulsed, his cloak dying. He rolled behind a table for a brief respite, then jumped into the fray.

He charged into their midst, tackling two combine. One barrel went into the stomach of the left one, the second barrel blew open the chest of the other. Bullets pinged off his back as he grabbed the third, punching its neck then bashing in its head. Spinning around he met the fourth by bringing the butt of his weapon into its skull. The fifth crumpled to the ground, its leg bent backward by an armored kick to the knee. The sixth pulled the trigger, shooting out a whirring orb that bounced around the room. It hit Six in the side, causing him to stagger, the breath knocked out of him. The Combine brought down its pulse rifle, intent on smashing the spartan's visor. Six blocked it with one arm, the other pulling the shotgun's trigger. It died in its own pool of blood.

The spartan straightened up, feeling the adrenaline course through him. It felt good. This was something he could understand, which was a rare occurrence considering all the unexplainable events that had happened to him.

"Tower secure-" Wait, wasn't there seven of them? He turned to see a soldier heave itself off the floor and stagger towards the big red alert button.

"I don't think so." He snarled, pinching the trigger. Empty. Giving an irritated grunt he heaved the shotgun at the combine. It was a dead hit to the back of the skull. It went stiff...then toppled over onto the alert button.

His scowl deepened as the alarm pierced his ear drums.

" I thought you said you'd keep it quiet." Chief's exasperated voice reprimanded him.

"Change of plans." Six barked, unwilling to admit his slip up. Soldiers were sprinting towards the tower. He grabbed extra ammo. "I'll divert them."

"We'll take the yard." He turned to the Rookie who was hunkered next to him. "Show time."

Outside, one of the Combine ACP's shuddered. A soldier paused next to it, noticing the disturbance. Bad idea. The door blew open, instant kill. Master Chief jumped out, the ODST in tow.

The green-clad spartan grabbed an enemy, hurtling it into the next one. Taking out the SMG he obtained from those rebels, he opened fire, cutting into their backsides as they raced to the tower, while Rookie manned the turret on the vehicle, strafing anything that dared pop out of cover.

Two combine charged at the Chief. He punched the first one, the impact sending his fist through the fabric and into its flesh. The second one's legs were kicked out from under it. Bullet's ripped apart its gas mask even before it hit the ground. Luckily they chose to raid a small outpost. There weren't too many they had to deal with. Easy.

That's when the Combine Chopper roared onto the scene, wailing its eerie battle cry. Its gun opened fire, sending the spartan rolling away, the bursts frying his shields. Whatever that thing was, it packed a punch.

He changed his battle strategy, rolling behind the vehicle for cover. He needed a bigger weapon. "Rookie, cover fire." He looked around. There was to be something.

The chopper's blades spun, slowly turning it around for another assault. Its gun peppered the side of the vehicle. Metal clanged and dented, warning lights flashed on the driver's console. The ODST looked down, he knew that wasn't a good sign.

He jumped out right when it was beginning to smoke. He hit the ground as it burst into flames, a melting tire flying inches past his head. Picking himself back up he grabbed a pulse rifle from a dead Combine and proceeded to cover the Master Chief.

It seemed pleased with the destruction. Spinning around, it came in for another dive, passing the watch tower. That was when the windows shattered. Glass cascaded down like thousands of falling stars as Six hurtled himself over the edge, latching onto the chopper. It deployed evasive maneuvers, trying to dislodge him, but that only made him hold on harder.

Working his way along its back, he located the thinnest of panels stationed right before its head-like gun. Giving a war cry, he ripped it off, pulling out a recently confiscated grenade.

"Burn." He grunted, shoving it deep within its organic wires and circuits. Pushing off, he plummeted to the ground, landing on his feet with a loud thud. He stood there calmly, embers swirling around him. Behind him the chopper crashed to earth, then blew up.

Rookie clapped his hands, while the Master Chief merely nodded. "Watch our six, we're heading in."

They made their way past the burning vehicles and the bloodied corpses, ahead of them lay the gate to the complex. Once inside, maybe they could find a way to get into the city the rebels mentioned and find Cortana.

"I got this." Six moved ahead, ready to hack the control systems for the gate, but suddenly it opened on its own. A lone rocket streaked out, catching the spartan by surprise. The impact hurtled him back, where he landed in a heap.

"Six!' Master Chief braced himself as another rocket blazed towards them. He side stepped it, smoke trailing around him, SMG raised.

From the smoke a white figure emerged, armored boots stomping slowly through the dirt. It loaded another rocket into its weapon, then let fire.

TO  
>BE<br>CONTINUED!

_**Uh-Oh, boss fight! Dun Dun Dun! I hoped you like the update. Another update will come soon, since this is a two parter.( But first I' going to add a little to my more popular story, A very Noble Christmas Vacation) I'm going to try and make both parts action packed, so I hope you like. Please review/critique, thanks! :) **_


	5. Chapter 5: Part 2

_**hallo! man, its been a really long time! Have to apologize for that. This year was a great one for games...and a bad one for my wallet. lol. Well, now that I have played enough of Skyrim, Portal 2, ME3, and Skyward Sword, i thought I would take up this again. Sorry if this chapter is kinda short, Im feeling a bit rusty. Next chapter is going to focus on Rookie, so please, please, **IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ABOUT HIS CHARACTER, i WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HEAR THEM!_

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><p>The Master Chief cracked his knuckles. He'd seen tougher looking foes. This was just one more in the long line of enemies he had to kill.<p>

"Rookie, cover me." He commanded the young ODST, who was currently struggling to pull a dazed Six into cover.

The spartan rolled, the second rocket coming so close to his head he could feel its heat through his helmet. He took that as a hint that he needed to close some distance.

Moving with inhuman speed, he sprinted across the gap. The Combine didn't even have time to realize it needed to reload before the butt of an SMG rammed into its face. The impact was strong enough to crack a normal person's skull, but the alien only took a calm step back, retaliating with an elbow to the gut.

The Chief bent with it, coming back up with a smashing upper-cut, the SMG shoved into its stomach, the trigger pulled. He took note of how the alien's white armor fizzled, absorbing the point blank barrage of shells. No doubt it was upgraded to resist any type close range stress. Great. He kicked it in the chest, forcing the combine back and allowing them some breathing room as they circled each other, wearily examining each other for any weaknesses.

He frowned slightly, hand to hand combat was never his forte. Improvising, now that was another thing all together.

The reprieve was over. Combine and Spartan braced themselves, then charged back into battle. Fist met fist. The Chief could feel the force shock-waving up his arm. He slid to the ground, kicking his enemy's legs out from underneath it.

Rolling back up, he calmly turned to face where the combine was struggling to pull itself off the ground, its large red orb for an eye glowing in the dark. That gave him the idea he was looking for. All enemies had a weakness, and he might of just found it for this one.

He grabbed its arm, jerking it back up. Its momentum carried it straight towards him. He flattened a hand, then jabbed it right into the center of its eye. Circuits blew, glass cracked as his hand exploded out the other side of the combine's skull. It twitched once, then died.

Master Chief withdrew his hand, fingers dripping with some type of brain matter. He turned his gazed towards his two companions. "This things dead. Lets move out."

The Rookie stared at him in silent awe. He looked at his own fist, wondering if he could do that. In the end, he only shrugged and went to help up Six, who was just now shaking his daze off. He extended a hand, but it was quickly slapped away.

"Don't touch me." Six staggered to his feet. By the way his shoulders were hunched they could easily tell he might of been a little peeved about getting hit by a rocket. "We done here?"

They looked up towards the complex, the search lights illuminating its foreboding concrete walls. For all the world it looked like a prison, and in another life, who knows. It very well could be been. The rebels told them that this was a checkpoint for the trains that entered the city. If there was a way into the city, it had to be here.

"Time to find some answers." The Chief replied, and led the way into the complex.

_Somewhere else..._

_ There was a void, as deep and as black as there ever was. In its fathomless depths, a tiny, minuscule light shone. It belonged to a small lamp that was perched neatly on a desk, the papers and documents on its surface cleanly arranged and organized._ _The lone person manning the desk leaned back in his chair, and adjusted his tie. Before him lay the dossiers of three certain soldiers. _

_ He almost smiled. Almost. Things were running along smoothly, as he had predicted. These three subjects, unbeknownst to them, were following the plan quite well. Soon, they would complete their task. They would trigger those unforeseeable consequences he favored so much, and put into action what he really came here to do. After he was through with them...well...that's when the real work would start. _


	6. Chapter 6: Please don't kill me

_**Alright, first of all, please don't kill me for taking ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR TO UPDATE. *runs and hides* I have a hole bucketload of lame excuses to throw at you, but I'll save them for later. Meanwhile, its ROOKIE TIME! Are you prepared for him to be all Gary Sue and emo? I sure am! XP Read, review, and please don't shoot me. Oh, and enjoy :3**_

* * *

><p>Six idly kicked the combine corpse over and wiped some of the blood off the console. "You really expect me to hack this thing?!" The irritation in his voice was apparent as he slipped off his helmet and turned to confront the Chief.<p>

"Cortana isn't here. Hacking is covered in basic training for saboteurs, and isn't that what you are?" He remained calm in the face of his fellow spartan's anger, his emotions a mystery underneath his visor.

"I'm a soldier, just like you."

"Then act like one. " The Master Chief turned to face the Rookie, who was leaning against the wall, awkwardly trying to ignore the argument. The three of them stood in the loading bay of the base, the train tracks running through the middle of the room, guarded by two cement ledges that also provided easy loading.

The Rookie crossed his arms, nodding questioningly towards the armored behemoth that was the train. Six might have known how to pick a lock, but that was far different than being a hacker, even if he was one he had an unknown alien language to contend with. He didn't feel too confident that they would be able to unlock the heavy train doors using the console.

Maybe there was another way. Curiosity collided with ingenuity and swirled around in his head. Straightening up, he approached the train, bracing a hand against the seam of the door. If they couldn't use intelligence, they would use brute strength. Giving a grunt, he began to tug.

Sensing his plan, the Master Chief went in to help. He gripped the door and, pouring in all his engineered strength, he began to pull. The door creaked. "Six, lend assistance. "

Grumbling all the way, Six begrudgingly went in to help. With their combined strength, they managed to crack the door open. The seals broke with a pop as metal moved and a fetid wind gushed out of the shadows of the train's interior.

The smell hit them like a sledgehammer, clawing its way through their helmet filters and into their noses. The Rookie stumbled back, his eyes burning. The acrid scent of blood and rotting flesh rammed into him, tearing into his mind and unleashing a torrent of rabid memories.

It smelled so familiar, so horribly familiar….

_The sky was burning, while down below the ground was littered with bodies. He couldn't stop the bleeding. He pressed his hands against the gaping wound in Sam's neck, a torrent of pleas and curses spilling from his mouth as he tried to save his best friend. Plasma fire erupted over his head, the covenant was getting closer, but there was no one to sound the retreat. His entire squad was dead. _

_ "Sam, look at me! You're going to be okay! I'll find a medkit somewhere; just keep your eyes open. Aw, Sam, why'd you have to go and do that? You KNEW those covies were behind the cliff, why'd you have to push me out of the way?! Just stay awake, I'll get-" _

_ "Hey…" Sam let out a gurgle, blood pouring out of his mouth. He gripped the Rookie's arm weakly. _

_ "W-what?" _

_ "…y-you talk too much, you know that…" with a pained smile, he tilted back his head and died, leaving his battle brother alone in a field of bodies, where the sky burned and blood soaked the earth. There was blood, so much blood mixed with rotting flesh and the smell coupled with the flies buzzing around dead eyes and the lifeless faces and Sam was dead Sam was dead Sam was dead- _

He couldn't take it anymore. His helmet clattered to the cement floor as he keeled over, vomiting the contents of his stomach onto his feet. He shook his head, trying to get the buzzing panic out of his mind. Groaning slightly, he stood back up to confront the emotionless expressions of the two Spartans.

Coughing, the Rookie stumbled back. He could feel their eyes cutting into him, making him uncomfortable. He looked down bashfully, and wiped his mouth. "Sorry."

"What are you doing here, Rookie?" Six narrowed his eyes disapprovingly.

"I don't-"

"That man in the suit could of chosen anyone, why you? You're an ODST."

"He's proven himself already." The Master Chief cut in. "He saved us from the worm."

"Using MY knife." He shot back, "with all due respect, _sir,_ we're on a mission, and usually to ensure the success of a mission, the best candidates are chosen. Why pick a fresh ODST? Why not pick another Spartan?"

The Rookie's shoulders sank, Six's words searing into him. The Spartan was right. What was he doing here? He was just a shadow caught in between these those legendary warriors. He wasn't like them, He was just regular human. He was tired and haunted by memories, all he wanted to do right now was take a nap. Yet, the question rang true. What was he doing here?

He looked down at his helmet, its surface still carrying the scars from New Mombasa. It was true, he didn't know what he was doing here, but he did know what he was. Bending down, he gently picked up his helmet. "I know why,' he replied quietly.

Six blinked, surprised to hear his voice. "Why?"

"Because I'm a soldier, just like you. " Putting on his helmet, he brushed past the two Spartans and stepped into the train.

TOBECONTINUED!


	7. Chapter 7: Help a girl out, here?

She was drowning in an ocean of data. Waves of script battered her, threatening to pull her under in a swirl of blue and black. Desperate, she fought to find a life preserver, some form of already translated and stored information that she could cling to. Her processing was becoming more scattered by the second, making her a bit peeved that she was overloading like this. This wasn't how she wanted to go out, trapped in an alien data core. It would be embarrassing.

She let out a victorious chuckle, which quickly converted into ones and zeroes then got mixed into the stream. There, she had found a buoy in this storm, the small tidbit that she had converted and translated right before she got the console was shut down and she got trapped in here. Pushing against the current, she fought to reach the glowing green data patch, crawling on top of it and straddling it like a surf board. Ah, much better. Now that she was out of the main rush of things she could properly start processing routines.

Her data board swirled around idle as the current roared and pushed underneath it. Cortana watched its path, already running analysis. This was a stream typical of a download, of what, she wasn't quite sure. Running a slender finger into the current, she tried to find the information that would tell her why.

From behind her, a fin broke the surface_**. **_It glowed a dark red as it streaked towards her, sending script flying out of its path.

Sensing that something was wrong, she turned her head in time to see the massive behemoth of fins and fangs rise out of the water and lungE at her. Before she could even set up a firewall the computerized ocean exploded.

She woke up, and there was nothing, just a thick, stifling darkness. Sitting up, she shuddered. Strange she felt….cold? Hugging her holographic shoulders, she looked down at herself, confused. Last time she checked, Halsey hadn't invented the program that allowed A,Is to feel body temperatures, and if she did, it definitely wasn't installed in her.

The darkness moved, becoming thicker. Warning bells set off in the back of her artificial mind. She wasn't in the data core anymore. She was in a new system. Bigger, more alien, more…organic?

She was trapped in something's mind.

"Great," she scowled, curling up. "I hope John's still alive, it looks like this girl is in some trouble. Again…"

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><p>The Combiner Advisor felt as surprised as a floating space slug could. Something…foreign…had lodged itself in the data stream, and was now a part of its massive intelligence. It mentally prodded at it, curious. Perhaps this could be a technology to be used.<p>

It flew off towards the city, where its minions no doubt waited in anticipation to extract this foreign technology and begin dissecting it.

* * *

><p>The rookie had found his way into one of the civilian class cars, and now had his face pressed eagerly up against the window, his blue eyes bright. For the entire world he looked like an excited kid on a trip to the city. Six didn't look so upbeat, his frown digging into his face.<p>

"We're pulling into the city," he announced.

"Acknowledged, "the Chief sat inspecting his weapon, he had done it more out of subconscious habit than anything else. Anything to keep his mind off the aching absence that took up the back of his head.

Cortana had been stolen, again. This was unacceptable to him. To let this happen was to fail in his duty as a soldier…and a friend. If it were anyone else, they would probably have been wallowing in guilt, but he had a mission to do, a friend to save, soldiers to get home. He could let himself feel something when everyone was safe and sound.

Getting up, he stretched, head almost touching the low ceiling, then walked over to join his companions as they stared out at the sprawling city anchored on the base of a cliff, the waves of the ocean lapping at its heels. Morbid looking brick buildings, their windows either shot out or boarded up, flitted by the train. A gray haze choked the sky as the fog rolled in.

Six's frown grew worse, usually he didn't mind new situations. He was a Spartan, he was trained to adapt, but he became more and more uneasy with each new and mysterious variable thrown at him. "Where are we?"

The train began to slow down, a telephone pole flitting by them, a screen anchored to its side. A white-haired, aging man appeared on it, and in words loud enough to be heard through the glass, he spoke in warm clarity: 'Welcome, welcome to city 16."

The train rumbled on past a dilapidated train station. A man sat on a bench there in blue suit and tie, feeding the crows around him. They only saw him for a second. He smiled, then was gone.

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><p><em><strong>TOBECONTINUED!<br>Alright, and No, I did not mean city 17. XP This is a different city, the city BEFORE it. Why? Tune in to find out! And in the meantime, all reviews, suggestions, and speculations are welcome. If you're dying for one of your favorite characters (from Halo or half-life) to appear in here, go ahead and suggest it! :D  
>thank you so much for reading! <strong>_


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